They started again in the Schongau City Museum - and there are plans for the current year.
Because there is a lot of space available, admittance is not a problem for visitors - but it will have to start again first.
So far, there have not even been three dozen museum visitors - “that hurts,” says Helmut Schmidbauer.
Schongau
- It almost seems as if the Schongau City Museum has been forgotten a bit by visitors, and many citizens are certainly still reluctant to meet.
The fact is: The museum is open again, but pretty orphaned after the long Corona-related closure.
Only one citizen visited the museum on the weekend
Last weekend, exactly one citizen came, the 29th visitor this year.
An extremely sad number for mid-June, as Helmut Schmidbauer thinks, a member of the City Museum working group in the Schongau Historical Association and former district home carer.
At the request of Schongauer Nachrichten, he picked out the comparative figures: In the same period of 2020 - when it was closed in mid-March - there were 520 visitors.
In the previous year until mid-June 671.
The area is large, 25 visitors can easily visit the museum at the same time
But now it should start again: Franz Grundner, city archivist and active in the museum property / exhibitions working group in the historical association, hopes that visitors will come despite the beautiful weather.
He can even imagine beating the drum up, so that something moves again in the museum rooms and so that tourists come again.
The area of the museum is so large - around 600 square meters - that 25 visitors could easily stroll through the many rooms of the building at the same time. The security concept had already been tested last year. Guided tours in small groups also worked well again and can be booked. Schmidbauer would like to offer, for example, the “high-heeled shoe tour” again shortly, which thematically fits in with International Women's Day: The woman in Schongau's city history from the beginnings to the present day.
Among other things, it is about an image of Mary, the representation of which has changed significantly over the centuries and was subject to both church politics and fashions.
Schmidbauer's tours deal with the history of the city as well as the city's craftsmen and the judiciary.
Can be booked individually.
"Everything is starting up again very slowly," Schmidbauer regrets, the clubs would also suffer as a result, "people are running away from them".
The first special exhibition is to take place in July: Redesign of the church interior of the Trinity Church
In July the first special exhibition, which was planned for the turn of the year, is to start: An exhibition on the occasion of the redesign of the church interior of the Trinity Church in Schongau.
The Protestant church on Blumenstrasse was extensively renovated last year.
Pastor Jost Herrmann and historian Harald Scharrer had already published a detailed article on the furnishings of the church building in the current yearbook “Der Welf”.
On display are parts of the original equipment from 1915, the altarpiece painted by Ida Beer-Walbrunn from 1922 and the principles created by Karlheinz Hoffmann in 1977.
Even if you know one or the other part of the church, such as the previous baptismal font, you can be curious to see what effect they will have in the new context in the museum.
The highlight is the altar cross donated by Empress Auguste Viktoria for the dedication of the church, which can now be viewed up close.
The exhibition is planned to be open from Wednesday, July 7th until October 3rd.
“There can't be a big vernissage,” regrets Heide Krauthauf, chairwoman of the historical association.
The exhibition will only open on a small scale.
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Coats of arms on a slug glass in lead frame: The representations of the Schongau coat of arms are varied.
© City Museum
A new glass box exhibition is also in preparation, namely about the development of the coat of arms in Schongau.
Whether on glass, as a wax picture, on flags or stamps - visitors should be able to get a brief overview of this, probably in autumn, as Grundner reveals.
In the background, he also wants to work on a larger exhibition, namely on the craft areas that are already extinct in Schongau.
As an example, he cites the history of dyeing, wire weaving and rope makers.
Grundner estimates that this exhibition could be held towards the end of the year.
It's not just cosmetic repairs that urgently need to be done
"Schongau City Museum: Not just cosmetic repairs" - Under this title, the Schongauer Nachrichten reported a year ago that, due to the tight budget situation, urgent and detailed renovation work had to be postponed.
The facades of the Ballenhaus and the music school were still being made, then Corona came.
"The museum needs to be completely overhauled," warns Franz Grundner from the museum property / exhibitions working group in the historical association and city archivist again today. In summer it is really nice and cool for museum visitors in the Erasmus Chapel, otherwise the house is “more like a greenhouse”. The problem is the indoor climate, at least temporarily, however, that is now under control. And of course they are not calling for a comprehensive general renovation at this point in time, but at least the existing structural damage must be repaired, says Grundner. This is possible with little financial outlay. It has been obvious for a long time, the facade is crumbling enormously, and there is also damage to the entrance area to the outbuilding. Grundner estimates that if such measures are not taken soon, it would end up being significantly more expensive.Windows would also have to be painted before the wood weathered.
However, there is nothing new about the urgently needed renovation of the city museum.
“That should be reassessed when drawing up the budget for 2022,” said city architect Sebastian Dietrich.
Whether and when the start can be made, however, cannot be predicted at the moment.
However, he does not know of major structural damage that would have to be repaired immediately, otherwise there would be losses in the structure of the building.
Such measures would fall into the area of "construction maintenance of urban buildings" and could of course be implemented.
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The archive of the Schongau City Museum holds valuable pieces, one was added only a year and a half ago and, curiously, was advertised as “art and junk” when it had long been owned by the museum.
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